In less than a week, comic book fans will get their first look at one of this year's most eagerly-awaited blockbusters: The Avengers (aka Marvel Avengers Assemble). Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and more get together on screen for the first time to save the world, and we certainly don't think the film is going to disappoint.

1. Remember the glowing blue tesseract energy cube from Captain America and teased in the post-credits scene of Thor? It plays a key part here, as Loki uses its power to open up a portal to another world.

3.Thor's Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) does make an appearance, albeit in photographic form.

4. There's romance for Tony Stark with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow in a barefoot performance), but also hints of a Bruce Banner bromance.

5. Agent Coulson outs himself as a bit of a fanboy, telling Steve Rogers he has a collection of mint condition Captain America trading cards.

6. Loki's alien army aren't the Skrulls, instead they're the Chitauri, who first appeared in Marvel's The Ultimates comic.

7. Marvel legend Stan Lee gets a customary cameo but not, as this set picture suggests, in conversation with Steve Rogers. Also, keep an eye out for Harry Dean Stanton, who spares Bruce Banner's embarrassment by handing him a pair of pants.

8. A Loki vs Hulk face-off will bring the house down. We laughed. Hard.

9. There's a very cool Avengers 'hero shot' towards the end of the movie, with Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye front and centre. You'll want that image as on your desktop!